Polio Images
Warning: Some images are graphic. This library includes subject matter that might be unsuitable for children. Viewing discretion is advised.
We have made these photos available for many vaccine-preventable diseases as an added resource to help you educate staff and patients about the importance of vaccination. We list them separately from each disease’s main page. Download these images for use in lectures and presentations.
Copyright Information: The majority of images in this photo section are in the public domain and can be reproduced freely. As a courtesy, please credit the source of the image. Images accompanied by the copyright symbol are posted with the permission of the copyright holders (contact information is provided in the source line: email address, link to website) and may not be reproduced without the express permission of the copyright holder.
Hospital respiratory ward in Los Angeles, 1952
Courtesy of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Child with a severely deformed leg due to polio
Courtesy of World Health Organization
Young man with a withered leg due to polio
Courtesy of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Child with polio, Rhode Island polio epidemic, 1960
Courtesy of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Patient in iron lung, Rhode Island polio epidemic, 1960
Courtesy of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Two children with polio receiving physical therapy
Courtesy of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Images like this were used to encourage polio vaccination
Courtesy of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Aerial view of a crowd awaiting polio immunization, San Antonio, 1962
Courtesy of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Child with sequelae of polio. Quote from Dr. Harry Hull
Courtesy of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Negative stain image of the polio virus
Courtesy of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Patients whose respiratory muscles were affected were placed in an “iron lung” machine to enable them to breathe
Source: World Health Organization
This patient sustained upper extremity paralysis due to the due to polio caused by the poliovirus.
Courtesy of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Cheshire Home for Handicapped Children, Freetown, Sierra Leone
Courtesy of World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Office for Europe
View more pictures on the Polio Eradication website at
https://polioeradication.org/news/multimedia/photos/
Two children with polio, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Kisangani
Courtesy of World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Office for Europe
View more pictures on the Polio Eradication website at
https://polioeradication.org/news/multimedia/photos/
Cheshire Home for Handicapped Children, Menagesha, 25 Km from Addis Ababa
Courtesy of World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Office for Europe
View more pictures on the Polio Eradication website at
https://polioeradication.org/news/multimedia/photos/
Children with polio, Freetown, Sierra Leone
Courtesy of World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Office for Europe
View more pictures on the Polio Eradication website at
https://polioeradication.org/news/multimedia/photos/
Polio has taken a visible toll in countries like Sierra Leone.
Courtesy of World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Office for Europe
View more pictures on the Polio Eradication website at
https://polioeradication.org/news/multimedia/photos/
This child is one of a set of twins, both paralysed by polio. Community in the Sibiti forest, Congo.
Courtesy of World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Office for Europe
View more pictures on the Polio Eradication website at
https://polioeradication.org/news/multimedia/photos/
Young woman with polio
Courtesy of World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Office for Europe
View more pictures on the Polio Eradication website at
https://polioeradication.org/news/multimedia/photos/
Boys with polio
Courtesy of World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Office for Europe
View more pictures on the Polio Eradication website at
https://polioeradication.org/news/multimedia/photos/
The wild poliovirus usually paralyses children under five years old.
Courtesy of World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Office for Europe
View more pictures on the Polio Eradication website at
https://polioeradication.org/news/multimedia/photos/
Boy with polio, Menagesha, at the Cheshire Home for Handicapped Children
Courtesy of World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Office for Europe
View more pictures on the Polio Eradication website at
https://polioeradication.org/news/multimedia/photos/
Boy with paralysis from polio infection
Courtesy of World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Office for Europe
View more pictures on the Polio Eradication website at
https://polioeradication.org/news/multimedia/photos/
Orphan girl with polio, Kenya
Photographer: James Li, MD
Courtesy of Remote Medicine
